


Beloved Shizuka

by FallacyFallacy



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Childhood Friends, Community: trope_bingo, Episode Tag, First Meetings, Flirting, Fluff, Gratuitous Use of Thou/Thee/Thy Pronouns, M/M, Madara Ships It, POV Outsider, Perspective Flip, Pre-Canon, The Kanzaki Cult, Trope Bingo Round 13, Wisteria Rain ＊ May's Purple Hue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2020-11-28 18:42:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20971250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallacyFallacy/pseuds/FallacyFallacy
Summary: 合縁奇縁・相縁機縁　（あいえんきえん）　[aienkien](n) uncanny relationship formed by a quirk of fate; a couple strangely but happily united





	Beloved Shizuka

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the square 'Perspective Flip' on my [Trope Bingo](https://trope-bingo.dreamwidth.org/) card, viewable [here](https://22degreehalo.dreamwidth.org/10317.html).

Reaching into a thicket of spindly little branches and pokey stems to open up a way through too-thick bushes isn’t normally Madara’s idea of fun, but the many cuts he is currently sporting down the arm in question prove that he’s already come too far today to give up now.

Holding the limb up with surprising difficulty, he pokes his head through.

“See? There’s a whole new area over here!”

He hears Kanata take a step forward despite his skeptical tone. “I don’t want a ‘new’ area. You said we were going ‘home.’”

“We are! At some point.” He looks back to give him a reassuring grin. Kanata does not look reassured. “Lighten up! It’s an adventure. Like I promised!

Kanata’s eyes narrow even further and Madara shudders. Usually, the ‘friend’ part totally eclipses the whole ‘god’ part in Madara’s head, but he can still be scary as hell when he wants to be.

And as much as Madara hates to admit it, he’s not exactly loving this, either. He might be better at all this running around than Kanata is, but when they finally get back home, the priests aren’t exactly going to be murdering their friendly neighbourhood ocean deity. The kid who lost him, though? To be honest, at this point he thinks he’ll be _more_ worried when they actually catch sight of the inner sanctum again.

So, they might as well keep going, right?

“Welp,” he decides aloud, “nowhere else to go but onward!”

He grabs Kanata’s arm, pulling him through the brush. Kanata stumbles; he’s been walking a little gingerly for quite a while now, which figures given he's wearing those spindly little geta they’re always putting him in.

Emerging on the other side, every part of this garden is exactly as he would’ve expected from the pinhole view he got a moment ago. Mainly grass, with scattered trees, bushes, and rocks. The shrubbery gets a bit thicker around the edges and where the ground slopes down into the creek. He thinks he spies a rock garden out on the other side, over a pretty red bridge, but he can’t tell whether it’s been raked recently.

“Okay! So which direction should we-”

“Shh.”

Madara instinctively opens his mouth to ask, loudly, why he should be quiet, but in that split second he hears it, too.

Somewhere, someone is calling out.

“Whoa!” Madara instinctively exclaims, darting behind a nearby hedge. The next time he manages to keep a low tone – the threat of finding out whatever that ‘lost our Most Sacred One’ punishment is turns out to be a pretty good motivator! “Who is it? Do you know them?”

Kanata shakes his head. His eyes are wide and Madara can see his pupils following along as he watches.

“No,” he says quietly. “It’s… a ‘child.’”

“...wait, seriously?” Now _that’s_ weird. Madara pops his head up. As soon as he spies the figure’s silhouette he winces. “Ahh, a Kanzaki, huh… haha, I guess we really did get pretty far from home!” He’s not sure how exactly – he doesn’t remember climbing over a fence into the outer grounds. Still, he has more interesting things to pay attention to right now.

The kid’s pretty close by, standing beneath another tree closer to the river. He clearly wasn’t calling to them, or anyone else for that matter – with every swing of the sword he holds, he lets out another loud ‘Haaah!’

“Huh. He’s pretty good!”

Kanata nods. “Yes.”

He seems strong – every time he brings his sword down, the force sends him a step backwards.

“Wonder if I could do that?” Madara swishes his arm. “_Haaah!_”

The boy jumps, finally startled out of his concentration. Unfortunately, Madara spoke as he was swinging, so as his sword drops he stumbles back clumsily and trips over a rock. Madara gets just one glimpse of an utterly astonished face before he disappears from sight.

Kanata gasps. In an instant he’s gathering the hem of his robes and running forwards as swiftly as his ceremonial clothing will allow. Madara darts forward a moment later, bounding over to where the kid lies by the bank of the river.

He sniffs, clutching his arm. “It hurts...”

“Ahh, sorry about that! All of your practising was super impressive, though! Top marks!”

A moment later, Kanata kneels down beside him. “Where is thy ‘wound?’”

Madara snorts. “Uh, what? Is this a ritual?”

But Kanata ignores him, and so does the boy, because the moment he and Kanata locks eyes his jaw drops in an expression of complete and total awe.

“Please tell me where thy ‘wound’ is, so that I may ‘heal’ it,” Kanata says insistently, brows furrowing in genuine worry.

“T-thou art…! Um...” The boy lifts his arm hesitantly. “I-I hit my elbow...”

Kanata takes his arm gently and brushes back the sleeve of his kimono. It does look kinda red there, next to Kanata’s snow-white fingers.

He closes his eyes for a few moments. When he opens them he smiles, hand returning gracefully to his lap.

“Has that ‘taken away’ thy pain?”

Still staring at Kanata, the boy hesitantly moves his arm. “...Y-yes! It has! It doesn’t hurt at all anymore…!”

Kanata beams, and the boy smiles wildly.

“I cannot possibly thank thou dearly enough…! Thy hast healed me completely! I am eternally in thy debt!”

Madara raises his eyebrows. “Do you really need to talk like that, too? But, whatever – why were you focusing so hard in the first place?”

The boy frowns a little looking at Madara, and this way he looks much more like the serious swordsman they encountered earlier.

“I was training,” he explains with a dignified air. “My dream one day is to get really really strong so that I could meet Kanata-sama someday and protect him from any bad guys or spirits that tried to hurt him.” As soon as he turns towards Kanata again, that earnest smile returns. “And then while I was thinking of my pledge to Kanata-sama, thou appearedst! Thou must have heardst my prayer!”

Kanata giggles. “I must have! I didn’t even ‘realise’~”

For the first time here, Madara feels a little suspicious. “So basically, you wanted to meet him and become friends? ‘Cause, just so you know, he’s already _got_ a best friend and that’s me, soooo...”

“_NO_,” the boy retorts, glaring at Madara. “I wanted to become his _protector_.” Once again, the moment he turns his gaze to Kanata he lights up brilliantly. “And now, I know for sure that’s what I’m meant to do! I was thinking about thee, and thou appearedst and healedst me! Please, let me swear an oath to protect thee!”

Madara can’t help but laugh a little – he’s used to hearing adults babbling all of this kind of archaic stuff, but would’ve thought that other kids would be more like him.

“Yeah, yeah,” Madara says, draping an arm over Kanata’s shoulder. “Just as long as it’s _only_ a protection thing. Remember: best friend, right here!”

The kid glares, eyes looking a bit misty. “I _said_ it’s _not like that_!” 

“I would be honoured to receive thy oath,” Kanata cuts in, shrugging Madara’s arm off, and he might like to think he’s projecting an aura of loving purity but Madara is pretty sure he’s feeling kinda smug right now.

The boy bows down, ponytail swishing, and recites a list of promises to ‘be thy sword’ and ‘take even a mortal blow’ and the like. Then he presents his sword – just a wooden one, obviously, but it looks quite pretty at least – which Kanata places his hand on for a moment. Madara’s honestly not sure if this is some kind of formal rite the kid’s memorised or if he’s just making it up but they both seem to be enjoying themselves.

Finally, he sits back and grips his sword in two hands with a noble stance. “I, Kanzaki Souma, swear to never leave thy side henceforth!”

“Huh,” Madara says. “Can he do that?”

Kanata glances at Madara guiltily. 

“Huh? Wait, dost thou not want me to?” Souma asks quickly, and for all his talk of self-sacrifice he sounds pretty hurt.

“...unfortunately, we are...um, beyond the ‘bounds’ of where we are normally ‘permitted’ today...”

Souma stares.

“By which I ‘mean’...” Kanata actually bows a little in apology. “I do not know whether I will be able to ‘see’ thee again...”

Souma’s jaw drops again, and now his eyes are definitely watering. “What? But we just…”

“But I ‘assure’ thee!” Kanata takes his hand; Souma fumbles to keep his sword steady without letting go. “Wherever thou shalt ‘go’, I shall be ‘with’ thou. As long as thou keep thyself pure and open thy heart to me, I will hear thy pleas.”

Souma sniffs, lip wobbling.

“Th-then… m-may I have a token?”

Kanata blinks. “Huh?”

“A-a token! A reminder of this day! So that I may hold it and concentrate on thee and focus my prayers!” Even despite his reddened eyes, when he sits up so stiffly and grasps Kanata’s hand so reverentially, Madara can’t help but be kinda impressed at his style.

“A token...” Kanata repeats.

“I will treasure it with my life, just as I would treasure thou,” Souma says, eyes locked on Kanata only.

Geez, Madara thinks. Kanata’s cheeks are pink and he takes a few moments to give a response. _This kid_ is _good._

“...I ‘accept,’” Kanata says.

Souma grins like a little kid, which sort of ruins the effect. But also not really?

“Okay,” Madara cuts in, “but what are you gonna give, though? It’s not like you walk around with a bag full of omamori to pass out or whatever.”

Kanata doesn’t seem to have considered that yet. After a moment of glancing around in bemusement, he picks a bright red flower from a nearby bush.

“I grant thou this ‘flower,’” he proclaims.

The boy understandably wilts a little and Madara sighs.

“Kanata, this is _his_ garden. You can’t give his own flower back to him!”

Kanata pouts. “The flowers wouldn’t have ‘grown’ if I hadn’t brought the ‘rains’ in the first place,” he reminds him defensively.

“Yeah, but you’ve always done that! Besides, that thing’s just gonna die soon. It’s gotta be something that’ll last forever, like...” As he casts around, his eyes latch onto it immediately – the same scarlet shade as the flower. “Like this!”

“My obi cord…?”

“Yes!” Souma says immediately. “I accept that!”

Kanata smiles in delight. “Of course! It is thine!”

Madara starts work on the tie immediately. “Man, they always do them so tightly! Like you’re gonna float up, up, and awaaay otherwise, haha!”

“E-ehh? Can he really do that?” Souma asks, eyes wide and suddenly terrified.

Madara laughs. “No way! It’s not like it’s a seal or anything? And – got it!” Well, the rest of the obi got untied too so he just passes the cord to Kanata and tries to clumsily re-do it.

Kanata holds it carefully, long braid of woven red thread spilling over his palms like silk.

For a moment, there is quiet, only broken by the sounds of bird calls, the bubbling of the stream, and Madara’s grunting as he tries to figure out how to tie one of Kanata’s super fancy obis.

“I, the kami Kanata, do present thy with this token, as a symbol of my affection and in recognition of thy oath.”

Souma’s hands tremble as he reaches forward. He cups the ends first, ensuring it will not trail against the dirty ground.

“I accept thy token as the highest of all honours,” he whispers.

They don’t say anything for a few moments. Madara bites his lip, tugging with all his strength until - “Hah! Got it!”

“Ow,” Kanata squeaks, then glares down at him.

“Sorry, sorry! But it’s done now! Weeeeell, it’s not the greatest-looking knot ever, but I don’t think it’ll fall down anymore? So it’s all good! All’s well that ends well~”

Still, Kanata looks a bit put out. Souma kinda glances between them, like he’s not sure what’s supposed to happen next.

“Oh, yeah!” Madara suddenly remembers, slapping a palm against his leg. “Almost forgot! Could you, like, tell us where we are, maybe? We got reeaaaally lost and have no idea how to get home, hahaha!”

Souma frowns dubiously and looks to Kanata.

“...that is...” He coughs a little, settling back into as dignified a seiza as he currently seems able to. “...not ‘wrong’. Um...s-so if thou would offer thy help...”

“Oh! Uh...” Souma glances behind him. “Yes, of course! Um. We’re pretty close to my house? Should I get my mother?”

“Yes, please,” Kanata says primly.

Madara winces. Hopefully she won’t be the strict type… “Thanks! I owe you a big one!”

Souma nods firmly and stands. His eyes trail over Kanata for one last moment before he’s off, over the bridge and out of sight.

“Huh, he’s super quick, too. He really will make a good fighter! Maybe I should’ve tried to get him to protect me instead?” Madara laughs.

Kanata rolls his eyes a little. But despite still being lost and far from home, he looks very, very happy.

Madara needn’t have worried about Souma’s mother. The moment she approaches Kanata she falls into a deep bow, pressing her forehead right into the ground. It makes him jump, and even Kanata seems a little surprised, but he’s immediately busy accepting her words of praise. Madara wonders if it ever gets kind of boring, but he hadn’t seemed bothered when it was Souma a moment ago.

He feels his sleeve tugged. Speak of the devil! “Elder brother?”

“What’s up?”

Souma is frowning again, eyes downcast, but from the way he’s biting his lip – and the redness in his cheeks – he’s clearly not angry.

“I know you said that you’re Kanata-sama’s best friend. A-and I’m not trying to budge in!”

“That’s good, that’s good! Good boy~”

The boy pouts, clutching ever tighter at the cord he’s still holding as Madara ruffles his hair.

“B-but, um, instead of that… do you think that maybe I could be his groom? A-and his protector, too! I can do both, right?!”

Madara considers this. “I think so. I’ve never heard of any rules saying you can’t.”

He brightens immediately, looking more excited than Madara’s seen him all day.

“That’s perfect! I always knew I wanted to pledge my life to him when I grew up, because he does so many great things for us? And I’m really really grateful for all the water and the fish and everything? But he’s really nice and he’s really really beautiful – I’ve never met _anyone_ as beautiful as him before!”

Madara can’t help but smile as well. “Yeah! I know what you mean – I’m really glad I get to be his friend too! So, _as_ his totally official no-questions-about-it best friend...I think I might be able to give you a hand, there. It’s a promise.”

“Do you think it might work?” His eyes are very wide. “I-I mean, he gave me this, so… doesn’t that mean he might like me too?”

“Could be!”

“I’ll wait for him.” He stands up straight, and he can’t quite tamp down on his excitement enough to get the determined expression he’s clearly aiming for, but the effect is powerful either way. “No matter how long it takes – even if I have to wait for hundreds of years! I’ll definitely find him someday!”

“Oof, even if you have to reincarnate? That’s pretty serious!”

“Obviously!” Souma pouts just a tiny bit. “I’m very, very serious! I’d do anything for him!”

“Souma-chan.”

Souma spins around immediately. “Yes, mother?”

The woman smiles at them all kindly. “I will be returning the young Kanata-sama to the inner sanctum presently. Please return home, now.”

Souma’s eyes go wide. “But, can I-”

“No, you cannot. You know we’re not permitted. I am only going because this is a special case, and only to the edge.”

Kanata looks almost as disappointed. “I’m sorry,” he says.

Souma’s mother looks a little startled. “I-I would not dream to question your will, Kanata-sama. Nor any rules necessary to keep you safe.”

Kanata screws up his mouth. Madara knows what he’s trying to work out: how angry is the Head Priest going to be if he brings outsiders (even if they’re Kanzakis) into the inner sanctum?

It’s totally dumb, Madara thinks. Being a kid sucks – even if you’re a _god_ you still have to do what the grown-ups tell you to. And they _never_ let him have any fun.

At least, not until Madara got him out today. He should make Kanata thank him later.

“Um...” Souma finally pipes up. “I don’t want anybody to get in trouble because of me… Besides – I can endure it. As long as I have thy token, I am at peace.”

“I thought you were going to find him?” Madara wonders aloud, but Kanata seems a bit relieved.

“Then shall we depart, Kanata-sama?”

Kanata sighs. “Okaaaay.”

Souma rushes towards him one final time. For a moment, he seems unsure what to do.

Kanata reaches out his hand. Souma takes it immediately.

“Remember my oath!” Souma declares. “I really mean it – every part of it! And I will keep this with me, evermore!”

“Thank you, Souma-chan,” his mother murmurs. “Good boy…?”

“I will,” Kanata says. “I ‘promise.’”

As they leave, Souma waves his token. Kanata doesn’t stop smiling.

Only when they’re out of eyesight does Madara nudge him.

“Seeee?” he murmurs, letting himself be the smug one this time. “Aren’t you glad you came with me now?”

Kanata kicks him. Madara just laughs.

*

“Urgh...it’s okay, I guess. I don’t dislike pretty ‘clothes.’ Besides, I can feel Anzu-san’s warm ‘feelings.’”

Kanata pauses, and his irritation melts away into something a little more coy.

“But. If I’m ‘Shizuka Gozen’ and Souma’s ‘Yoshitsune’… then according to the ‘script,’ we’re actually ‘married.’”

Madara grins – he was really wondering which of them would mention it first, but this is _perfect_.

He watches with bated breath, not wanting to miss a single moment of Souma’s flustered response.

But once again, he surprises him.

Eyes narrowed and smiling like this, he doesn’t look like either the scowling servant of Akatsuki or the spirited junior he’d played around with earlier. He looks, at least in the opinion of Madara’s suddenly rapidly-beating heart, rather _cool._

Souma chuckles. “That would be an honour,” he says.

Okay. Mama will give them _one_ more moment together.

And he thinks he sees it, too, for a second – a surprised flutter to Kanata’s eyelashes. Right before Souma ruins it.

“...though,” he continues, and now he looks bashful. “Buchou-dono would probably dominate me as my wife...”

Kanata smiles. It’s scary, scary~!

“All right, all right, that’s enough!” Unable to restrain himself any longer, Madara leaps forward, tackling Souma around the shoulders. “Isn’t it time to thank Mama, huh? Be a good boy, good boy! Say ‘thank you very much, Mama~!’”

“Huh...?” Souma jerks but finds his balance remarkably well considering the height difference. “Um, yes? They are very beautiful costumes, so-”

“Not thaaaaat!” He grins widely. “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten already, huh? And after I promised I’d do what I could to help you, y’know? Didn’t you say you’d wait for him, no matter how many hundreds and hundreds of years it would take?”

Now this is what he was waiting for – before his eyes, Souma gasps and his cheeks grow red.

“Th-that… was _you_?”

“Indeed it was! Now c’mon, I need to hear you say it! ‘Thank you very much, Mama~’’”

“Stop ‘bothering’ him like that.” Geez, why is it that they both smile so much at each other but keep glaring at him? What did he ever do?! Kanata does look confused, though – has he not figured it out yet?

“He’s a strong boy, he can throw me off if he wants! Prooobably~”

Souma shakes his head, regaining his voice. “Uh, erm… ‘th-thank you very much, Mama.’”

Madara steps back, clutching his chest. “Ahhh, you did it! What a good son, good son! Okay, you’re Mama’s new favourite! I’m gonna spoil you right up~”

“Stop that,” Kanata whines. He’s pouting. “I don’t understand. What are you ‘thanking’ him for?”

All of Souma’s hot guy energy from earlier has thoroughly left the building. He’s entirely red and fidgeting with a frantic energy.

“U-um… well...” His fingers go up again, tracing the red cord tied so elegantly around his long hair.

Kanata notices it too, and blinks.

“...we met,” Souma says, at the exact moment Kanata’s eyes widen. “A long time ago. In the garden.”

“Yes,” Kanata breathes.

“I did treasure it,” Souma says. He’s still clearly nervous, but when he tucks a lock behind his ear and smiles, it’s extremely endearing; Yoshitsune’s clothing suits him well. “I kept it with my shrine, in a brocade box. And then, when I came here… I decided to wear it. For good luck.” He laughs a little. “I know this isn’t how it works, but… when I met you that first day, it felt like it worked. You heard my prayer again!”

“Yeah,” Kanata says. “I thought it really ‘worked’, too. Every now and then, when I was sad or lonely, I’d feel a bit ‘better’ out of nowhere. I always thought that was your ‘prayer’ reaching me...”

“That...makes me really happy!” Souma laughs a little, an expression of pure joy. “Even if you aren’t a God...I can’t believe that bonds of fate don’t exist. There’s something drawing me to you, for certain.”

Kanata is brightening, too. “It was a really big ‘comfort’… I never got to meet any other ‘children,’ so it made me really ‘happy’ that you liked me.”

“Apart from me!” Madara can’t stop himself from piping up. Maybe there’s some kernel of defiant best friend still holding on in there? “Well, we knew each other since we were babies, so I guess that doesn’t count!”

Kanata’s brow furrows a little. “I didn’t ‘recognise’ you. I’m sorry… I’m sure you told me your ‘name,’ but I didn’t remember it.”

Madara shrugs. “To be honest, I wasn’t _completely_ sure until I saw him in the costume here, either.”

“It is no trouble.” Souma shakes his head emphatically. “That I left such a wonderful impression means far more to me.”

“And...” Kanata frowns. “You still haven’t ‘explained’ why he wanted you to thank him...”

“A-Ahh, well...” Aaaand once again, he clams up. No matter how much progress he makes with Kanata, he can sure still blush!

Still, he can be nice. He’ll give Souma a good five seconds to answer.

Okay, three.

“While you were busy fielding Mrs Kanzaki’s praises back then...” Madara slings an arm around Souma’s shoulder in a show of utmost solidarity. “He tugged my sleeve to ask a veeery important question. He didn’t _only_ want to be your protector, you know? No, kiddo here had even higher aspirations. Only being Kanata-sama’s groom would satisfy his heartfelt longing!”

“Ah,” Souma chokes out.

Kanata’s eyes widen, and then so does his smile. He giggles, softly.

“Soooo, that’s your answer then, huh? I got it all sorted for you, y’know? You get to be his knight in shining armour _and_ his husband! Didn’t Mama do well, putting all of this together for you? Well, I already wanted to do the live obviously, but didn’t I pick the absolute best theme possible? Ahh, I really think you should thank Mama again! Let’s go~”

They’re not listening. Kanata looks very fond.

“Keep it,” he murmurs. When he moves, the long lilac robes rustle like the shaking of wisteria in the rain. “The ‘token.’”

Souma swallows. “I-I will. I promise!”

“You’re right… it did ‘reunite’ us. And I’d like it to keep that ‘magic.’”

“Yes! Myself as well!”

“And...” Kanata draws close and Souma breathes in; with a graceful, sweeping motion, he curls one dainty end around his fingertip. “Against your ‘hair’… it looks ‘beautiful.’”

When he leans back, Kanata gives him one last lingering warm glance, and then steps away.

“Haha… well, I guess you really weren’t wrong then about all that, eh, Souma-san?” Madara says with great amusement, clapping Souma on the shoulder.

He doesn’t respond. He may have ascended to Nirvana.

“But, really, congratulations! I said I thought you were in for a chance, but that was really something, huh?! I’m so proud, so proud – I can hear the wedding bells already!”

“I,” Souma says. He looks like he’s been kicked by a horse, but in a good way. Mama gives him some well-deserved thumbs up!

“Hey, sempais?”

“Mitsuru-san!” He wonders where he went off to. Oh, there’s Anzu waving politely, too. “And Anzu-san! What’s up?”

“Um, I dunno what you’ve all been talkin’ about all this time, but the live’s gonna be starting soon, so we better hurry it up!”

“Ahh, right, right! What the Producer-san says goes, after all! Sorry Mitsuru-san, we got kinda caught up here! Big kid stuff~”

Mitsuru shrugs. “That’s okay! But I didn’t wanna miss out, ya know? I really love doin’ lives!”

“...AH,” Souma gasps. “Th-the _raibu!_”

In an instant he darts into acting, moving in one direction and then stopping.

“Ah, wait – wh-where were we going?!”

Mitsuru laughs with Madara. “Sou-chan-sempai’s being as funny as always~”

Souma looks up at Madara helplessly. He grins and slaps his shoulder again.

“This way, this way~! Can’t have Mama’s favourite child being late! No matter what kind of earth-shattering revelations or life-defining moments of bonding you’re sharing here~! The show must go on!”

Souma looks terrified. Madara’s already planning his best man speech.

**Author's Note:**

> * This fic was inspired by [the red cord Souma wears in his hair in a lot of his costumes, including - of course! - his Courageous Yoshitsune outfit.](https://twitter.com/KanaSous/status/1175640916385644546)  
* I am not even _remotely_ an expert, but [as far as I can tell from Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinto#Types), faith healing is not normally a part of Shinto, but of the different sects that sprung up in the Edo period (presumably when the Kanzaki came about), some of them _do_ engage in that, so that part might actually have a basis in fact?  
* The definition in the summary comes from this dictionary of [four-character idiomatic compounds.](https://khaitani.net/4jwd)  
* Please correct me on any grammar mistakes regarding the thou/thee/thy pronouns, I tried so hard lmaooo


End file.
